Surviving Stage 3 Esophageal Cancer

Stage III esophageal cancer is an advanced stage of cancer where abnormal cells are no longer contained within the esophagus. With this diagnosis, you'll often see metastasis to the outer wall of the esophagus and sometimes out into the lymph nodes or surrounding tissue. Surviving stage III esophageal cancer usually relies on adhering to those treatment option best suited for this stage of the disease, including surgical procedures, chemoradiation therapy or even clinical trials.

Surgical Procedures

• With a surgical procedure for stage III esophageal cancer, the amount of area affected by the cancerous cells often dictates the aggressiveness of the surgery. Even in this advanced stage of the disease, you may only need to have the tumor as well as the surrounding, healthy tissue removed from the esophagus.

  However, most cases of stage III esophageal cancer will most likely need to have a portion of the actual esophagus removed. Often referred to as an esophagectomy, the diseased segment is first removed (and potentially the lymph nodes) before the stomach is reconnected to the unaffected portion of the esophagus. In some cases, a small segment of the small intestines is used to reconnect these two areas of the body. It just depends on the viability of the connection whether or not your doctor will utilize this approach of repair.

Chemoradiation Therapy

• Another possible form of treatment for surviving stage III esophageal cancer is the use of chemoradiation therapy. When this approach is used, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are administered in conjunction with one another to damage and destroy cancerous cells. And though used in tandem, the two forms of treatment can often increase the efficacy of the other.

  With chemotherapy, drugs are orally or intravenously administered to structurally damage the abnormal cells. This damage can either kill these cells or impede their rapid division. But no matter how it affects the tumor, the "anticancer" drugs typically make cancerous tissue far more susceptible to the effects of radiation therapy, allowing it to better penetrate the abnormal cells and further damage their structure.

  With radiation therapy, an external beam of radiation is directed onto the cancerous tissue or a radioactive device is implanted either near or into the malignant tumor to damage the structure of the cell. And much like chemo improving the effects of radiation, the genetic damage incurred to the abnormal cells often increases the damage of these "anticancer" drugs.

Clinical Trials

• There is also the potential that a clinical trial could improve your chances of surviving stage III esophageal cancer. When this approach is used, you'll be subjected to a combination of treatments, using surgery, different chemo drugs and different forms of radiation. The type and way in which these treatments are administered are based on the clinical trial, so talk to your doctor about those trials currently available. They usually change with some regularity and vary depending on your geographical location.